Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said, “generally technical fixes are easy to do,” and told International Trade Today that such a bill to make fixes to USMCA's implementation bill could hitch a ride on a Continuing Resolution to fund the government, if the bill were completed in time. Grassley said a week ago that he hasn't had any discussions on the technical fixes needed, including allowing post-importation refunds of merchandise processing fees.
The International Trade Commission posted Revision 14 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The semiannual update to the HTS implements USMCA, which took effect July 1, and adds new tariff numbers for a variety of products, including diagnostic reagents and personal protective equipment. All changes take effect July 1, unless otherwise specified.
Because the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was in such a hurry on implementation, some USMCA details needed by traders are either wrong or missing. For instance, there are tariff numbers that are invalid, because negotiators used the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers. On a call with trade professionals July 6, CBP staffers said importers or exporters can email CBP with a tariff number in question, and the agency can provide guidance on how to claim USMCA treatment for those goods.
The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and two Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee asked follow-up questions to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about the ethics of USTR officials soliciting consulting business on complying with rules of origin in the USMCA. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who asked Lighthizer about Bloomberg reports that revealed the consulting business (see 2006180029), sent the letter to USTR on July 1. Chairman Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., sent his letter a week earlier.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Importers continue to ask CBP what they should do about importing used cars that were built in Canada, the U.S. or Mexico, when they cannot know if those vehicles meet the new regional value content standards.
The International Trade Commission posted Revision 14 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The semiannual update to the HTS implements USMCA, which took effect July 1, and adds new tariff numbers for a variety of products, including diagnostic reagents and personal protective equipment. All changes take effect July 1, unless otherwise specified.
The U.S. named six panelists for the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism, for the enforcement of USMCA labor protections:
The U.S. Trade Representative announced the appointment of USMCA state-to-state dispute panelists July 1:
Drawback filers should not file any USMCA drawback claims at this time, CBP said in a CSMS message. Some technical changes to ACE need to be made before CBP can accept USMCA claims, and the agency will send out another CSMS message when they have been deployed. “Please continue to file NAFTA drawback claims, if applicable, under the NAFTA requirements,” CBP said. Filers will not be allowed to commingle NAFTA and USMCA imports on the same drawback claim. “The date of entry determines which agreement controls, not the date of claim,” it said.